The first half of April marks the battle of the three Android flagship smartphones - the HTC One (M8), Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 - for the hearts, minds and wallets of the consumers. For the first time in years, the launch dates of the three phones are very close to one another.

The One (M8) and Xperia Z2 are available in stores from today while the Galaxy S5 is available a week later on April 12. As usual, we have compiled the contract pricing across the board for your easy reference. We first start off comparing the specs of the One (M8), Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 below:

1. Do note that the contract pricing is based on this week's promo which is valid from April 5 to April 12. Prices may change thereafter.

2. Other miscellaneous costs such as early re-contract fees, SIM card charges and registration fees are not included in this table.

3. These comparisons are solely based on the contract pricing of the respective phones.

4. With a two-year contract tied to each phone, we have compiled a table comparing the total amount you have to fork out (at minimum) over the two-year span for each plan category. For this calculation, we took into account the monthly subscriptions for two years and the contract pricing as listed for the respective telcos.

5. The Galaxy S5 is the only phone in this comparison to come with 32GB internal storage capacity at launch. Do take this into consideration when looking through the price comparison below.

Telco Basic Plans Comparison

Data Plan

M1

SingTel

StarHub

Name

ValueSurf+

Lite

Smartsurf Lite

Monthly Subscription

$39

$39.90

$38

Local Outgoing Mins

120

100

100

Local SMS

600

800

800

Local Data Bundle

2GB

2GB

2GB

Phone Contract Prices

HTC One (M8)
16GB

$648

$608

$639

Samsung Galaxy S5 (32GB)

$688

$688

$699

Sony Xperia Z2 (16GB)

$548

$568

$569

Total Costs Incurred over Two Years

M1

SingTel

StarHub

HTC One (M8) 16GB

$1,584

$1,565.60

$1,551

Samsung Galaxy S5 (32GB)

$1,624

$1,645.60

$1,611

Sony Xperia Z2 (16GB)

$1,484

$1,525.60

$1,481

Telco Mid-Tier Plans Comparison

Data Plan

M1

SingTel

StarHub

Name

LiteSurf+

Value

SmartSurf Value

Monthly Subscription

$59

$59.90

$58

Local Outgoing Mins

300

200

300

Local SMS

800

900

900

Local Data Bundle

3GB

3GB

4GB

Phone Contract Prices

HTC One (M8)
16GB

$388

$348

$399

Samsung Galaxy S5 (32GB)

$398

$398

$399

Sony Xperia Z2 (16GB)

$328

$328

$329

Total Costs Incurred over Two Years

M1

SingTel

StarHub

HTC One (M8) 16GB

$1,804

$1,785.60

$1,791

Samsung Galaxy S5 (32GB)

$1,814

$1,835.60

$1,791

Sony Xperia Z2
(16GB)

$1,744

$ 1,765.60

$1,721

Telco High-Tier Plans Comparison

Data Plan

M1

SingTel

StarHub

Name

ExtremeSurf+

Plus

SmartSurf Premium

Monthly Subscription

$98

$99.90

$98

Local Outgoing Mins

700

500

700

Local SMS

1,000

1,000

1,000

Local Data Bundle

5GB

4GB

6GB

Phone Contract Prices

HTC One (M8)
16GB

$188

$118

$229

Samsung Galaxy S5
(32GB)

$228

$218

$229

Sony Xperia Z2
(16GB)

$128

$88

$99

Total Costs Incurred over Two Years

M1

SingTel

StarHub

HTC One (M8)
16GB

$2,540

$2,515.60

$2,581

Samsung Galaxy S5
(32GB)

$2,580

$2,615.60

$2,581

Sony Xperia Z2
(16GB)

$2,480

$2,485.60

$2,451

Telco Premium Plans Comparison

Data Plan

M1

SingTel

StarHub

Name

MaxSurf+

Prestige

SmartSurf Elite

Monthly Subscription

$198

$205

$205

Local Outgoing Mins

Unlimited

2,000

2,000

Local SMS

2,000

2,500

2,500

Local Data Bundle

12GB

12GB

12GB

Phone Contract Prices

HTC One (M8)
16GB

$88

$0

$99

Samsung Galaxy S5
(32GB)

$98

$98

$99

Sony Xperia Z2
(16GB)

$48

$0

$0

Total Costs Incurred over Two Years

M1

SingTel

StarHub

HTC One (M8)
16GB

$4,840

$4,920

$5,019

Samsung Galaxy S5
(32GB)

$4,850

$5,018

$5,019

Sony Xperia Z2
(16GB)

$4,800

$4,920

$4,920

Our Inputs

*Updated on April 11: We have a dedicated article on helping you decide which smartphone suit you best.

There is without a doubt that all three Android flagship smartphones are very strong contenders. Here's our recommendations:

If the design, build quality and handling of a phone matter to you, there is no better choice than the HTC One (M8). Its all-metal (90%) chassis provides a premium, solid and comfortable feel in the hands.

Want a phone that is durable and protected from the weather elements? Go for the Samsung Galaxy S5 or Sony Xperia Z2. The Galaxy S5 is rated IP67 for water and dust resistance while the Xperia Z2 is rated IP55 / IP58. Against dust, the Galaxy S5 has a higher level of protection than the Xperia Z2. However, the Xperia Z2 can survive deeper waters (1.5m compared to 1m on the Galaxy S5) and is protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions. On a side note, fitness-orientated consumers should consider the Galaxy S5 for its suite of health-related features such as S Health fitness app and a heart rate sensor.

Should you want to consider your next flagship device based on the best user interface, both HTC Sense 6 and Samsung TouchWiz should be on your shopping list as there are moderate changes done to their interfaces. While Sense 6 may not offer as much features as the Galaxy S5, it has a simpler, lighter user interface. Nevertheless, you should head down to the shops to try out the phones and see which interface appeal to you.

As we have yet to review the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2, we reserve our comments on which phone provide the best overall performance. Based on our review of the One (M8), the HTC phone fared quite well in our benchmark tests and has a remarkable improvement in battery performance.

For more information on the different phones, hit the links below to the respective reviews: